Frances Foster
- Disambiguation: This is also the full name of Frankie Foster, a fictional character based on Lauren Faust.
Frances Foster | |
---|---|
Born |
Frances Helen Brown June 11, 1924 Yonkers, New York, U.S. |
Died |
June 17, 1997 73) Fairfax, Virginia, U.S. | (aged
Cause of death | Cerebral hemorrhage |
Resting place |
National Memorial Park Falls Church Fairfax County, Virginia, U.S. |
Occupation | |
Years active | 1950–1997 |
Known for | Vera – Guiding Light |
Spouse(s) |
Robert S. Foster (m. 1941–77) Morton Goldsen (m. 1983–97) |
Frances Helen Foster (née Brown; June 11, 1924 – June 17, 1997)[1] was an American film, television and stage actress. In addition to being an actress, Brown was also an award–winning stage director.
Life and career
Foster was born Frances Helen Brown[2] in Yonkers, New York, the daughter of George H., a postal worker, and Helen E. Brown.[3][4] She studied acting at American Theater Wing in Manhattan from 1949 to 1952.[4] In 1955, she made her stage debut as Dolly May in The Wisteria Trees at the City Center Theater in more than 25 of its productions.[4] Foster won an Obie Award in 1985 for sustained excellence of performance. She was also a recipient of two AUDELCO Awards, one as an actress and the other as a director for work at the New Federal Theatre in Manhattan. In 1978, she received the best actress award for Do Lord Remember Me, and the best director award in 1983 for Hospice.[4] She also appeared in several films, including Malcolm X, Crooklyn, and Clockers, as well as the recurring role of Vera on the soap opera Guiding Light from 1985-94. She died in Fairfax, Virginia, from cerebral hemorrhage, June 17, 1997, aged 73.
Selected credits
Theatre
Year | Production | Role | Theatre(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | Having Our Say[5] | Miss Sadie Delany (standby) | Booth Theatre | |
The Young Man from Atlanta[6] | Clara | Signature Theatre | ||
1992 | Malcolm X | Woman Outside Audubon Ballroom | ||
1990 | Ground People[7] | Viola | America Place Theatre | |
1986 | House of Shadows[8] | Cassie | America Place Theatre | |
1982 | Do Lord Remember Me[9] | American Place Theatre | ||
1980 | Zooman and the Sign[10] | Ash Boswell | Theatre Four | |
1978 | Nevis Mountain Dew[11] | Everelda Philibert Griffin | St. Mark's Playhouse | 1979 Drama Desk Award nomination, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play[12] |
1975 | The First Breeze of Summer[13] | Gremmer | Palace Theatre | |
1972 | The River Niger[14][15][16] | Grandma Wilhelmina Brown | St. Mark's Playhouse[14] Brooks Atkinson Theatre[15][16] |
Originally an Off-Broadway production that was transferred to Broadway.[14][15][16] |
1971 | Rosalee Pritchett[17] | Rosalee (Rose) Pritchett | St. Mark's Playhouse | |
1970 | The Good Woman of Setzuan[18] | Mrs. Mi Tzu | Vivian Beaumont Theater | |
1968 | Kongi's Harvest[19] | Ogbo Aweri Segi |
St. Mark's Playhouse | |
1965 | Day of Absence[20] | Supervisor Aide |
St. Mark's Playhouse | Program of two one-act plays by Douglas Turner Ward. |
Happy Ending[20] | Vi | St. Mark's Playhouse | Program of two one-act plays by Douglas Turner Ward. | |
1963 | The Last Minstrel[21] | Mrs. Ash | Pocket Theatre | |
1959 | A Raisin in the Sun[22] | Ruth Younger (understudy) Beneatha Younger (understudy) |
Ethel Barrymore Theatre Belasco Theatre |
|
1956 | Take a Giant Step[23] | Violet | Jan Hus Playhouse | |
1955 | The Wisteria Trees[4] | Dolly May | City Center Theater |
References
- ↑ "Social Security Death Index [database on-line]". United States: The Generations Network. 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ↑ http://www.filmreference.com/film/91/Frances-Foster.html
- ↑ "Fifteenth Census of the United States (1930) [database on-line] , Yonkers (2nd Ward), Westchester County, New York, Enumeration District: 60-12, Page: 15A, Line: 24-30, household of Geo. H. Brown". United States: The Generations Network. 1930-04-12. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Pace, Eric (1997-06-23). "Frances Foster, 73, Actress And Director in the Theater". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
Frances Foster, a character actress, a stage director and a founding member of the Negro Ensemble Company.
- ↑ "Having Our Say". New York, NY: Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ↑ "The Young Man from Atlanta". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ↑ "Ground People". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ↑ "House of Shadows". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ↑ "Do Lord Remember Me". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ↑ "Zooman and the Sign". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ↑ "Nevis Mountain Dew". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
- ↑ "Frances Foster". New York, NY: Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ↑ "The First Breeze of Summer". New York, NY: Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- 1 2 3 "The River Niger". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- 1 2 3 "The River Niger". New York, NY: Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- 1 2 3 "The River Niger". United States: Internet Theatre Database. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
- ↑ "Rosalee Pritchett". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ↑ "The Good Woman of Setzuan". New York, NY: Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ↑ "Kongi's Harvest". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- 1 2 "Happy Ending/Day of Absence". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ↑ "The Last Minstrel". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ↑ "A Raisin in the Sun". New York, NY: Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
- ↑ "Take a Giant Step". New York, NY: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
External links
- Frances Foster at the Internet Movie Database
- Frances Foster at the Internet Broadway Database
- Frances Foster at AllMovie
- Biography at filmreference.com
- Frances Foster at Find a Grave